
NJ man, 56, accused in string of damaging Somerset County store burglaries
🔲 NJ man accused of burglaries
🔲 10 businesses damaged
🔲 Defendant, 56, faces various charges
A 56-year-old Middlesex County man has been accused of breaking into at least 10 Somerset County businesses to steal cash and other items, leaving a trail of damage.
Gabriel Bay, of Milltown, was now facing various theft, burglary and criminal mischief charges in connection to the commercial burglaries between Dec. 3 and Dec. 16 in five different communities, Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald announced on Wednesday.
On Dec. 3, Bedminster police responded to a call of a break-in. Just after 2 a.m. a person later identified as Bay was seen on surveillance video at a local convenience store along Route 206.
Using a crowbar, police said, he broke the glass front door, before entering and clearing $267 in cash from two cash registers and leaving.
About 40 minutes later that morning in Warren Township, the same man was seen on surveillance cameras in the area of commercial properties on Washington Valley Road, carrying a hammer, McDonald said.
Three properties were burglarized, with forced entry into each store - where the defendant allegedly stole cash and a gaming console from one before leaving.
Warren Township police responded, as store owners reported losses of $300, $100 and $1,200, respectively.
On Dec. 14, Branchburg Township police responded to a report of a suspicious person throwing items at the window of a business along Route 202, at 1:19 a.m.
Officers found the glass front door shattered and a man still inside. When confronted, police said he ran out the rear door, making off with $415 in cash from the cash registers.
Two days later, on Dec.16 at 4:29 a.m., Bernards Township Police responded to reported break-ins in Basking Ridge.
The man identified as Bay was seen on surveillance video pulling into a parking lot on Martinsville Road, where three storefronts were found to have broken windows.
He allegedly stole $120 from one store and a hammer and a screwdriver from another, before fleeing.
That same morning, Green Brook Township police responded to a reported break-in. Bay was allegedly seen in surveillance video, using a hammer to split the door in half at an establishment on Washington Avenue.
He is then allegedly seen on video, walking across the street and using a claw hammer to break a glass front door at a restaurant also on Washington Avenue.
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Bay was arrested in Milltown on Dec. 17, processed at Somerset County Jail and then held in Morris County Jail.
He faces the following charges:
▪️ Out of Warren Township: third-degree burglary (3 counts), third-degree theft, fourth-degree theft, fourth-degree criminal mischief, disorderly persons offenses of possession of burglary tools (3 counts) and theft
▪️ Out of Branchburg Township: third-degree burglary, fourth-degree theft, fourth-degree criminal mischief and disorderly persons offense of possession of burglary tools
▪️ Out of Bedminster Township: third-degree burglary, fourth-degree theft, fourth-degree criminal mischief and disorderly persons offense of possession of burglary tools
▪️ Out of Bernards Township: third-degree burglary (3 counts), fourth-degree criminal mischief (3 counts), disorderly persons offenses of theft (2 counts) and possession of burglary tools
▪️ Out of Green Brook Township: third-degree burglary, third-degree attempted burglary, fourth-degree criminal mischief (2 counts) and disorderly persons offenses of theft (2 counts)
The investigation involved police from each municipal force along with the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Burglary Unit, assisted by the Middlesex County SWAT team, and officers from Edison and Woodbridge Police Departments, McDonald said.
Anyone with information regarding these burglaries can contact the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Burglary Unit at 908-231-7100 or via the STOPit app.
Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477).
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